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Saturday, February 14, 2015

We have liked pasta recipes and it’s not a hidden secret
from this blog’s readers like you.Our weekend nights are mostly pasta nights,
and in the past I have shared other pasta recipes as well.Today it's spaghetti pasta with prawns, cherry tomato , red chard tender leaves cooked in marinara sauce.

I had spaghetti pasta, and was thinking to use them up
soon.As the school half term holidays have started here with this weekend, I
have to find ways for making my daughter enjoy her food and also keep her entertained.This
spaghetti pasta was well received and appreciated by her today as her lunch.Although
I will say ,this still can be cooked for a lazy weekend Valentine night
celebrations, in case you don’t fancy, eating out and paying hefty sums.What
ever be the occasion, love doesn't need a particular day.Every day is a
lovable day, and it’s up to us how we make it beautiful.

I also happened to pick prawns this time, and wanted to make
chingri - malaikari, but then thought will use it up in this pasta preparation, so this "Chingri pasta recipe" was ready.I
had greens like red chard tender leaves and wild rocket leaves, which also increased
the nutrients factor, so as those juicy cherry tomatoes.With all those
vegetables and prawns, this spaghetti pasta recipe turned out very delicious.Now
to the recipe

Heat up a large saucepan filled with water. Let it come to
one boil; add in half a tsp of salt to it and few tsp of cooking oil. Add in
uncooked spaghetti to it and let it cook for 8-10 mints. Scoop out about a 1 ½
cups of this pasta water and discard rest of water.

Clean prawns, and take off the head and tail.Marinate this
with little salt and keep aside.

Now heat up a separate cooking pan, add in olive oil, and
add in chopped garlic. Let it stir/fry it to get a nice brown colour.Add in chopped
onion. Let it stir/fry it for 4-5 mints.

Add in marinated prawns. Add in red chard leaves. I have
also used rocket leaves which give a nice peppery flavor.

Add in the reserved pasta water/starch and pasta sauce to it.
You can even use fully ripened tomatoes for the sauce and pureed tomato is even better. Add in red wine if you
wish to use, which forms base of the marinara sauce.Add in fresh thyme now.

Let this sauce cook well on its own juices with cherry
tomatoes, prawn, red bell pepper and red chard leaves.

After about 10 -12 mints, add in cooked spaghetti, toss and
mix well.Stop cooking it further.

At the time of serving, garnish with your preferred cheese
and red chilly flakes.

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

We saw season’s first snow today, excited? Yes, you can
presume as such .And who doesn’t like snow, but then if the snow starts melting,
it’s another story altogether.While it’s snowing heavily far across Atlantic Ocean
in US, we are happy and contended to get about an inch of snow here.Well, I wouldn’t
even dare to think 10 inches of snow, as that would ring an alarm bell for me.As
of now, update is, it’s melting away, oh! Things of joy don’t last for ever, it
always is short-lived, but the memory that it creates always resonate.

With this cold and grey weather, we really crave to eat some
spicy food, and lobia- keema curry is one such dish.As our family struggled
with seasonal flu and cough, this hot and spicy preparation was well
appreciated by my folks.There is of course a vegetarian version, and that will
be to skip lamb mince all together, or may be adding up soya mince- vegetarian
option for meat mince.But if you like non-vegetarian meals, then this is very
appetizing.You can even make this curry in
bulk and store in batches in fridge, but try to consume within 2-3 days.And
trust me, next day , when the flavours are well incorporated, this turns out
more flavourful.

Well it does remind of Mexican Chilli, although I haven’t
included other vegetables or cheese or kidney beans or pinto beans, in to this
curry.This is a spicy preparation, if you are making it for little kids, reduce
the red pepper powder.Actually I have used red bird-eyes chili pepper / Thai
chili for this preparation, which is considered one fo the hot peppers, so you
can guess the hotness of this curry.

Soak about 2 -3 cups of dry lobia/black eyed beans in ample water for about
6-7 hrs. You can even soak them in warm water for 2-3 hrs in case you are
running short of time. Or even use pre- packed tins. I have used approx 2 – 3 cups
of cooked lobia for this curry (1 can serves well for 3-4 people). You can
even use 2 tins to increase more beans in the curry.

Now pressure cook black
eyed beans/lobia for one whistle at high,
lower the flame and let it cook further for about 10-12 mints. Open once the
pressure subsides. Reserve this for later use.

Now prepare the keema- lamb mince

Chop finely all the ingredients- onion, ginger, garlic and tomato.
If you don’t like chopping then, wet grind those in a mixer adding little bit
of cooking oil. I have even added some of the dry masala ingredients while
making the onion+ginger+garlic paste, so add turmeric powder, red pepper
powder, kashmiri red pepper powder, cumin-coriander powder to make a smooth
paste.

Now heat up a large vessel enough to hold keema, lobia and
the gravy. Add in cooking oil. Add in pinch of asafetida, and then add in the
prepared masala paste. Add in slit bird eye chili.Adjust salt.

Now let it stir/fry it further for about 9-10 mints at
medium high flame, splash some water if the paste starts to stick on the base.
Once the paste has turned dark in color and the oil starts separating out, add
in lamb mince.

Keep on stir/fry the lamb mince for about 10-15 mints. Add
in cinnamon powder+nutmeg powder+cardamom powder. You can even use garam masala
as well. Splash little water if it tends to become very dry.

Now add in about 2 cups of lukewarm water and the cooked beans
with all the water if any left after pressure cooking it.

Cover the vessel and let it cook slowly for about 1 hr at
low flame. Alternately you can put the entire thing in a pressure cooker. Let
one whistle at high and then lower the flame, so that it can cook on it’s own
for about 10 mints. Open once the pressure subsides.Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Enjoy with rotis or rice. I had it with cooked couscous and
cherry –avocado salad.

Note-

Bird eye chilly adds the hotness to this curry, skip it
if you do not like very hot and spicy curry.The same recipe goes well with
rajma- red kidney beans as well.